What I did on my summer hiatus Part II

Ok, more catching up on the summer adventures, or in this case the challenges and curve balls of summer.
(pic is of the tomato plants in Midland).


Family Matters

On a sad note there were some troubling health problems with three dear family members this past summer. First my grandmother’s heart started to give her trouble. I’m still not quite sure what the exact diagnosis is other than she has a slow heart rate and that medication, very expensive medication, is doing the trick. No pace maker is required at this point. She carries on with most of her routines; baking, gardening, painting, but all of which are measured and apportioned based on her energy. I can definitely see where she has cut back and relaxes more. And at 88 she should enjoy some good nap time whenever she wants! The other consequence is that she’s no longer able to help me at Mom’s, which is okay as we’ve got matters under control.

Gram was only in the hospital for a weekend and it wasn’t more than a week later when cousin Earl suffered a heart attack in June. His kids rallied around him and his dear wife Helen ensuring that he was getting the best care, not an easy task. Earl is a man of action and I think the worst of it for him has the need to slow down and wait for answers. My cousins arranged for consults for him at the Cleveland Clinic where work was done to map the arrhythmia that is causing the problems. The healing is not over yet and Mom, the MR and I keep both him, Helen, and their kids, in our daily prayers.

Finally, my dear Aunt Stella passed away in September. She’d been on the decline for the last year and it was a comfort that she died without prolonged suffering. Stella was the unofficial matriarch of my Mom’s family. It seemed to me that she commanded an air of refinement and was treated with more deference to her wishes than the other great aunts or uncles. This was due to her loving and generous nature, but also the strength of her will, as she was one not easily crossed.

Stella had a group of her favorite nephews and nieces and my father was one of them. He cared a great deal for her and she never let me forget how much she loved him in return and appreciated his thoughtfulness. In fact, Stella was the one who gave my folks a lot on Wixom Lake, where we built a small house. For a decade or more the cottage served as one of the main gathering points for my entire family…many a good meal and party was had there, and Stella was always in attendance. There are two things about her I will always remember about Aunt Stella: her laugh and her cooking.

Like my grandmother, her blue eyes twinkled when she smiled and her laugh came easy. Each Christmas she would make punchki and give each niece and nephew a bag of them rolled in cinnamon and sugar. These punchki were so DELICIOUS and completely unlike the donuts sold by the same name in grocery stores for fat Tuesday. How do I describe them and do this justice? Well…her punchki looked like handmade fritters, cakey yet spongy with a hint of lemon zest, and oh so rich from the egg dough. I was lucky have made them with her on two occasions and to learn the recipe first hand. (The secret is that the dough rises 3 times!) Thanks for all the wonderful punchki, love and care throughout the years of my life Aunt Stella. Rest in peace.

A Silver Lining

It was all death and petulance you know. In June, the MR’s sister-in-law Lisa gave birth to a baby girl, Kayla. The new baby is happy and healthy and will soon be joining her older sister in laughing and running (or drool'n and crawl'n) around the house! Congratulations to brother ER too; you got the baby's room remodeled just in time!

oh…I have to add this one too even though the event occurred in the fall. Our dear friend Cindyloo welcomed the birth of her second daughter in October, Willa. Congrats Cin and Andy, but wasn’t I promised a boy after Charger was born?

And then there was a week in Provincetown, but since I’m running out of room here, I’m saving that for the next post!

What I did on my summer hiatus Part I

Our victory with Obama spurred me to blogging again last week, and preempted this nice little summary I’d put together of adventures over the last several months. I’ve got too much to say about the last several months so this part 1 of “What I did on my summer hiatus."



I can see
After two years of cajoling, the MR convinced me that LASIK was the best 40th birthday present I could give myself. While researching possible eye centers, I ran into a friend who raved about a laser surgery place in King of Prussia, PA. Then I found out my optometrist was afflicted with the same group (Kramer) so all of my check-ups would be with him in the city. That cinched it. My only compliant...no AMBIAN! Everyone else I know got decent pharmaceuticals to dull the anxiety. What's that all about?

I couldn't be happier with the results. I've got 20/10 vision, which is far better than I ever experienced with contacts. When I'm tired at night my eyes are VERY dry and it feels like I still have dry contacts in. This is getting better a small price to pay! The joys of swimming and seeing the shore!

Indie 500
A good friend of MR’s, from his Notre Dame days, got married Indie 500 weekend. Actually the wedding was like a pre-party to annual Indie party his friends through. It was pleasure to meet all of his colleges friends as everyone was extremely nice to me and welocming. Didn’t go to the race though, I’m just not that into it, even though the party was a block from the track.

Summer Solstice
The MR and I had a short but wonderful visit with the Reelitz/Hall/Lack gang in Cedarville, MI. Celebrating a beautiful warm solstice sunset couldn’t be better than with our extended family on the shores of my spiritual birth-waters. Spending time with Michelle and Heather was great, and a rare chance to see them both together with MR by my side.

For the last year and half I’ve been able to see Michelle 4 times!!! Unprecedented in all our years living across the country from each other.

I’m so lucky MR loves the Cabin (and how could he not?). The love for him is returned by the Jan, Dan and the Halls, and this is a lovely thing for me to experience.

Of course Dan put us to work on his latest construction project: a garage/kids dormitory (seriously). A trip to the Cabin is never complete without lifting a hammer or shovel anyway. MR and I helped Chris, Dan and Joe (yeah Joe!) frame out the roof. The new garage will have more square footage than our house in Philly!

Summer at Mom’s
After a rather rough winter, Evie started to feel well enough to get out more by this summer. The congestion that plagued her from December on finally abated and I’d noticed a real upswing in her energy level come August. I do remember her energy returning quicker last summer, but I’m grateful none the less. She didn’t feel up to traveling Nehatwanta again, but we’ve had weekend outings, which always included mass on Sunday followed by a Bob Evans breakfast (buttermilk biscuit…yum). In September she’s had outing four days in a row without any serious consequence. It’s difficult going back and forth from Philly to Midland, but I’m blessed to be able to be here. (the pic is of the garden I've been tending at Mom's for the last two years.)

Happy Earth Day

It’s a big day here in Philly. Not only is today the presidential primary (incidentally I voted at 7AM this morning), but it’s also Earth Day!

This day comes and goes with fan fare that waxes and wanes like anything else. I must admit that this latest wave of eco-enthusiasm is not sweeping me along with it. I was in college when I experienced the big wave of the late 1980’s. That wave swept me into a career as the recycling “garbage man” for many years. As a result I may be a little jaded because I know the difference now between talk and action. And over the years I’ve heard a LOT of talk! So, today I’m going to focus on some positive action.

Earlier this month the MR and I participated in a citywide clean up of Philly.
After a quick sweep of our neighborhood we volunteered to help in an area that needed the manpower. Props to Mayor Nutter for organizing the effort within weeks of talking office too! We ended up in the Callowhill neighborhood, which is divided from Center City by the I-76.

This is an area known for its old warehouses and dilapidated manufacturing buildings. Some of these buildings are truly works of art with granite columns, engravings, and other flourishes meant to represent the power and the energy of workforce and products manufactured inside. There are many condos here now, some with families. Even still the area has a sense of desolation about it.

The MR and I met the best people that day. Enthusiastic women and men who had moved to Callowhill before the promise of any gentrification. They’ve worked tirelessly as part of a neighborhood association performing their own cleanups, without the help outside volunteers. They sounded like war veterans as they described tackling certain lots that had been dumping grounds or fighting to keep some places from backsliding.

We worked for a good 3-4 hours with dozens of others, cleaning out trash from corners of buildings, along fence lines, and sweeping streets. As our teams moved along a street, the before and after difference was striking. It’s not that we made the place shine exactly, but without all of the litter, the streets appeared more hospitable.

The best part of the day was feeling that sense of community. You could see people everywhere bagging the trash, sorting the recyclables and generally pitching in. One of the Callowhill organizers wiped tears from her eyes as she greeted volunteers from surrounding communities. She was overjoyed that people would leave their own Philly neighborhoods to help where help was needed most. The MR and I were so happy to help!

As much as the media will stress the power of the individual on Earth Day, I think it is the power of the group or community that is most significant. When the work is done collectively, the results of progress are more evident; you see things change more quickly.
We need that positive reinforcement because the task of environmental protection can seem so overwhelming. I know I get overwhelmed!

Of equal benefit too is by working together, we strengthen the ties that bind our communities together. We reinforce and strengthen each other’s commitment to our homes, to acting responsibly, and we even make new friends. Most importantly we learn that we are NOT ALONE in this effort. It’s a cliché but together we do make a difference.

The Creative Class and Upstate NY

I was introduced to Florida’s writings while in grad school. Both the MR and I had read his works and would discuss his ideas feverishly when we were dating.

In my own life I have more than just anecdotal evidence of the power of the creative class. I have lived in communities that were prospering under redevelopment efforts that accentuated walkable, accessible town centers with a healthy mix of business, residential, food and entertainment options. Places like Ann Arbor, Northampton and even Keene come to mind. The redevelopment was the genesis of the existing population that in turn attracted new arrivals. I would run into a number of people in their 30’s that were former college or graduate students of the area and gravitated back to the nests that nurtured them. Not surprising really, if an area offered good schools, good housing, culture/arts, and promoted an entrepreneurial spirit, why not move there?

I’ve also spent an equal amount of time living in places that were struggling and stumbling to acquire and mix the ingredients of the same redevelopment recipe. These were not places that seemed to draw back or retain graduates from local colleges. I don’t have any data to back this up, but I’ve never met anyone in Flint who came back to town years after college because he or she got all inspired just thinking about Autoworld.

I look at my own firm and find that despite all of the standard geographic advantages ranging from good schools to relatively accessible outdoor activities (ADK or Catskills), I'm told we've had trouble finding highly skilled workers that WANT to live in the capital district. With NYC and Boston within three hours each, if high-quality city life is desired, then the CapDist doesn’t measure up in comparison. If outdoor living or bustling small town life is key, then the suburbanization/strip mall landscape of the CapDist is likely to be a turn-off when places like Burlington, Ashville, or Portsmouth offer the ideal “best in small town living.”

To me the region is perfectly located with the Catskills, Green Mountains, and ADK all visibly within reach. Although the night life is lacking, the potential is there. Albany and Troy have an amazing inventory of buildings for unique restaurants and clubs to prosper. There are a few universities RPI, St. Rose, SUNY Albany, and Union to supply a ready and able work force. Yet, these variables don’t seem to be enough.

On the downside, the physical environment has been suburbanized and cut up by freeways. The colleges tend to be isolated and campus life is not an integral part of the community in any one of the nearby cities. In some ways it’s similar to metro Detroit where you have to drive from one amenity to the other. Even the mighty Hudson is cut off from downtown Albany by the interstate highway. People love living near water, but not when obscured by a freeway! My opinion is that many residents of Albany aren't even aware of its presence in the landscape anymore. The waterfront isn't the cultural focus, it was supplanted by the modernist Empire State Plaza. I've attended several events at the Plaza's performing arts venue, the Egg (which was built to look like an egg) where even the performers criticize the inhuman nature of the Plaza and mock the structure itself. If you can't get love from a traveling musician, then well... you're probably unloveable.

A bright spot in the region is Saratoga Springs. Although the city's original charms are being worn down some by towering new condos, the scheduled nanotech firm developments in nearby Malta will make Saratoga the first choice for newcomers. It has the vibrant town center and night life. I've seen more restaurants come and go there in two years than I've seen change hands in my Philly neighborhood!

The biggest obstacle in mind mind to attracting young professionals to stay or relocate to the region is the lack of town centers in the suburban towns that would provide venues for them togather and mix. The one thing a 20-something will tell you that if there is no place to meet other singles, no centers of gravity for games, sports, nightlife, cafes, etc., then life in that community is considered to be lonely and undesriable. It must be a community in the true sense of the word and not just a collection of buildings.

Snow Slam Feb08

Snow Slam is the name given by the local news to the storm of last week. Wednesday was blizzard like with near white out conditions for hours during the day. I took a walk to the local market bundled in my snow gear about 4 PM and watched as cars drove 15 miles an hour along a main road way. By the time I got back home, the signs of my shoveling of the sidewalk were barely evident.








We awoke on Thursday to bright sun and pure white blanket of snow.




If only the Christmas lights were still up!